(SportsNetwork.com) – The San Antonio Spurs are rounding in form and will try
to continue their momentum Saturday night when they welcome the Brooklyn Nets
to AT&T Center.
The Spurs have won three straight since a road setback to the Sacramento Kings
one week ago. They demolished the Philadelphia 76ers by 25, then pulled out a
great win against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers by two in Cleveland
on Wednesday.
San Antonio collected its third consecutive victory Friday night with a 121-92
drubbing of the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center.
Tony Parker had 28 points and five assists to lead the Spurs.
Danny Green knocked down four 3-pointers and finished with 18 points, while
Kawhi Leonard added 14 for the Spurs, who have won six of their last seven
games.
Boris Diaw chipped in 13 and Aaron Baynes added 12 off the bench. Tim Duncan
only scored nine and Manu Ginobili added five.
“Our mindset was to be focused from the get-go and make sure we can rest the
guys in the second half,” Parker said.
Marco Belinelli returned to the Spurs’ lineup Friday after missing eight games
with a groin injury. He scored five points in 10 minutes.
Tiago Splitter and Patty Mills are still out and Matt Bonner missed his second
straight with a stomach virus. Corey Joseph hurt his ankle against Minnesota
and didn’t return. His availability for Saturday is unknown.
The Nets ended a five-game slide with a 94-92 road win over the Oklahoma City
Thunder on Friday. The victory also halted a three-game road losing streak for
Brooklyn.
Reggie Jackson’s last-second 3-pointer rimmed out, and the Nets survived.
Brooklyn trailed by 10 late in the third quarter, but a 12-0 run that extended
into the fourth made it a 76-74 game. A 10-0 run later in the fourth gave the
Nets a seven-point lead, but Jackson and the Thunder mounted a final rally.
“All those buckets were huge,” Nets coach Lionel Hollins said of the 10-0
surge.
Jackson scored six of Oklahoma City’s last nine points, with Anthony Morrow
supplying the other three on a triple with just under two minutes to play.
Jackson’s layup with 5.5 seconds left made it 93-92, and Joe Johnson split a
pair of free throws at the other end.
Out of a timeout, Jackson isolated at the top of the key and pulled the
trigger, only to have his potential game-winner fall out. Kevin Garnett
secured the rebound, and the game.
Jarrett Jack scored a game-high 23 off the bench to lead the Nets. Deron
Williams and Brook Lopez supplied 17 and 16, respectively. Mirza Teletovic
chipped in 13 in a reserve role as the Nets overcame 19 turnovers.
The Nets finish off this road trip Wednesday in Philadelphia.
The Nets beat the Spurs on Feb. 6 to snap a six-game losing streak. The Spurs
are 20-2 versus the Nets and won 11 consecutive home games in the series. The
last regular-season game the Nets won in San Antonio came on Jan. 22, 2002.
